I could find 4500 students on campus that would vote to end all varsity sports and instead use athletic department funds only for virtual gaming teams. By your logic, the university should do that because “the students have spoken”. As stated, 80% of a previous student vote went in favor of keeping the Chief. University does not make policy changes based on the whims of the student body. Want to know how this will be decided? Follow the money!
The mascot debate/fandom thread
We’re up to at least 2. Check your facts, Sir.
Can we just pin this post to eliminate (hopefully!) any future discussions of adopting the Kingfisher?
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
Blocky or bust.
I 
Alma Otter 
The Kingfisher …
Alma Otter The Kingfisher …
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altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
For what it's worth:
I'm from Michigan, but I fell in love with Illinois as a kid and really badly wanted to enroll at U of I (and fortunately, I was able to). Obviously, because of the University's academics, but also because I thought out of all the Big Ten schools, Illinois easily had the coolest history. I love this idea of yours because it has so much to offer with that rich history. I'm not sure what the equivalent would be for Basketball and other sports, but I like the idea that we would be starting unique traditions in each sport on campus and not just a generic character for all. So, for a start, I love this for Football.
All my friends go for different Big Ten teams, which makes Saturdays really fun and competitive, to be honest. Something that brings me a lot of pride is our latest tradition of using different throwback helmets for significant games! My friends will always comment on how badass it is, and what a cool/unique tradition that is for our program. Most notably, my friends who support Penn State & U of M (who also won't shut up about their team's "iconic" uniforms) have shown some jealousy in our look.
I say all this to illustrate that the Illini are good at thinking outside the box and starting new traditions. I'd like to see us come up with something really unique, like what you are describing, rather than something simple (like a furry mascot) that conforms to standards other programs use.
I know I just got done saying we should avoid a furry costume character, but if we did go that route, I would fully support Alma Otter
. The name alone is funny and unique to the school, and Otters are awesome. Cool concept art
That is a sad looking bird.
I mean....Speedy the Geoduck, Evergreen State College
Or the Fighting Okra of Delta St.
Honorable Mention. the Stanford
Tree
That's an old version. This is the current Speedy.
For those who don't know, the geoduck is the largest burrowing clam in the world. They live a very long time (longest recorded lived to 168 years) and can burrow extremely deep. The word geoduck actually comes from the Lushootseed word for "dig deep." I learned all of this in the last 2 minutes.
God-tier mascot, tbh.
I just never know what I’m gonna learn in this forum from one day to the next!
that said, the otter raft would probably be a step forward for our interior run defense
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
I defy you to page through the otter-related content in this thread and not smile
I mean, it would please EVERYONE.
I know this is an old comment, but Posts like this crack me up and make me love this mascot ideaDid you know that River Otters can be found in every county of Illinois? 
Chief gear is available at Rally House in Champaign. There’s a wide variety of Chief items at GamedaySpirit.com.Gosh darn all the reasonable and good-natured debate above! Now I don't know whether I should wear my Chief gear to games any more.
If we must have one, Alma Otter is not terrible. You know I'm halfway there any time a Dad joke / bad pun is involved.
I too have not seen any Chief gear in campus stores for many years. Most of my Chief-labeled stuff is very old. But you can find Chief items online still to this day, here's one I got just a couple years ago (replacing a near-identical and decades-old one that had finally worn out).
View attachment 45240
I wonder if we’re selling kids short with thinking they’ll only respond to goofy stuff. Chief Illiniwek has a wow factor that will remain long after a foam-headed mascot will blend in to the forgettable mass.
This forum is named Illinois Loyalty after the title of our principle school song. It’s like loyalty might be important to us. So what would represent said loyalty more, a goofy bird mascot, or the symbol Chief Illiniwek?
You know, there’s another university that has a chief that the clearly refer to as a symbol, not a mascot. And I’ll bet that every kid in the stands not only awed by Chief Osceola, every boy wants to BE Chief Osceola. That wouldn’t happen with a goofy animal mascot.
Watch here and tell the kingfisher is a better idea:
Chief Osceola, the Spirit of Florida State
This forum is named Illinois Loyalty after the title of our principle school song. It’s like loyalty might be important to us. So what would represent said loyalty more, a goofy bird mascot, or the symbol Chief Illiniwek?
You know, there’s another university that has a chief that the clearly refer to as a symbol, not a mascot. And I’ll bet that every kid in the stands not only awed by Chief Osceola, every boy wants to BE Chief Osceola. That wouldn’t happen with a goofy animal mascot.
Watch here and tell the kingfisher is a better idea:
Chief Osceola, the Spirit of Florida State